Pilot Debrief

BEECH F33A near Mooresville, NC — 2010-07-06

Final reportERA10LA349
Sign in to save
Date
2010-07-06
Location
Mooresville, NC, USA
Airport
14A
Aircraft
BEECH F33A
Registration
N350NW
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

NTSB narrative

Because the airplane had not flown for an extended period of time, the pilot elected to fly the airplane to his home in order to run the engine. During the preflight inspection, the pilot removed trace amounts of water and contaminants by draining fuel samples from the fuel tanks several times. The pilot subsequently departed and the flight proceeded uneventfully. Upon entering the traffic pattern at the destination airport, the pilot activated the fuel boost pump according to the airplane's before-landing checklist. Immediately after the fuel pump activated, the engine began to lose power, and after turning off the fuel boost pump the pilot attempted to restart the engine. The pilot subsequently performed a forced landing to a lake, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing tip. Postaccident inspection revealed no evidence of any obvious mechanical deficiencies of the engine, though an attempted test run of the engine was unsuccessful.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have conducted more thorough preflight checks on the engine and fuel system.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 6 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents6

Related mishaps